Fund supermarkets increasingly important to SIPPS

Nearly half of providers marketing SIPPs offer a defined link to fund platforms in their propositions to aid mutual fund trading, according to Defaqto’s Retirement Savings & Income Report 2007.

The figure has risen from 43% earlier in 2007 to 47% currently, with Defaqto expecting the rise to continue as the battle between structured and flexible SIPP propositions intensifies.

Matt Ward, Defaqto’s Principal Consultant for Pensions & Wealth Management and lead author of the report, says: “This movement provides a key example of where sections of the market are shifting away from full flexibility and towards more packaged propositions with tangible process improvements and cost efficiencies.”

“As the search continues for the holy grail of straight through processing and up to the minute online valuations through SIPPs continues, it is inevitable that more of these relationships between investment service providers will be formally established.”

Defaqto’s report also highlights the clamour for other providers of investment services and trading platforms to seek distribution opportunities via the buoyant pensions market.